Yarn guiding and feeding means for a false twisting machine



; y 19, 1966 c. c. MICHALEK 3,

YARN GUIDING AND FEEDING MEANS FOR A FALSE TWISTING' MACHINE Filed on. 21, 1963 CHARLES C. M ICHALEK INVENTOR.

United States Patent Oflice 3,261,154 Patented July 19, 1966 3,261,154 YARN GUIDING AND FEEDING MEANS FOR A FALSE TWISTING MACHINE Charles C. Michalek, Nanticoke, Pa., assignor to The Duplan Corporation, Winston-Salem, N.C., a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 21, 1963, Ser. No. 317,597 Claims. (Cl. 57-34) This invention relates generally to an improved yarn guiding. and feeding means for the feed rolls of a false twisting machine and more particularly to an improved yarn guiding and feeding means for a false twisting machine of the type that is provided with yarn feed roll means at opposite sides of the false twisting spindle and wherein each of the feed roll means includes a positively driven roll and a freely rotatable separator roll positioned closely adjacent the driven roll, the yarn being helically wound several times about the driven and separator rolls as it enters and leaves the twisting Zone.

The present yarn guiding and feeding means is particularly adapted for use with a high speed false twisting machine of the type manufactured by Leesona Corporation and known as their Model No. 553. This particular machine is provided with a false twist spindle, a heater positioned below the false twist spindle, lower feed roll means around which the yarn is wound for withdrawing the yarn from a supply package and feeding the same to the heater and the false twist spindle at a predetermined linear speed, and upper .feed roll means around which the yarn is helically wound for maintaining the proper tension in the yarn as it is false twisted and for feeding the yarn to a take-up package. In this particular machine, the driven roll of the lower feed roll means is formed of metal and its peripheral yarn engaging surface has grooves which maintain the helically wound yarn on the roll. In this conventional machine, it is only possible to obtain approximately a 2% overfeed of the yarn between the lower feed roll means and the upper feed roll means, with the result that the tension in the yarn is so high during the false twisting of the yarn that the full crimp potential is not attained in the yarn.

Because the percentage of overfeed in this machine is this low, the amount of crimp retraction is limited and the stretchability of the yarn falls below that desired, in many cases. Also, slippage of the yarn on the metal lower feed roll sometimes occurs, with the result that the yarn processed on this machine does not always have uniform characteristics throughout its length.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide yarn guiding and feeding means of the type described which makes it possible to positively control the feeding of the yarn and to increase the amount of overfeed of the lower feed rolls to about 6% to 7% the increase of the overfeed serving to decrease the amount of tension in the yarn as it is false twisted, to improve the crimp retraction characteristics of the yarn, as well as the stretchable characteristics of the fabric knit or woven of the yarn, and also servingto increase the poundage of yarn produced on the machine.

It is a more specific object of the present invention to provide improved yarn guiding and feeding means of the type described in which the lower feed roll is provided with a frictional surface or cover, such as rubber, for positive driving of the yarn wound thereabout, and wherein yarn guide means is provided on the peripheral surface of both the upper and lower feed rolls to maintain the yarn in the desired position on the feed rolls as it is advanced thereby.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a somewhat schematic isometric view of one station of a false twisting machine showing the yarn moving from the supply bobbin to the take-up tube and illustrating the present yarn feeding and guiding means applied to the lower and upper feed rolls;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged front elevation of the upper feed rolls, removed from the false twisting machine and looking in the direction of the arrow 2 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a front elevation of the lower feed rolls looking in the direction of the arrow 3 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE .4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view through a portion of the driven roll of the lower feed rolls, taken substantially along the line 4-4 in FIG- URE 3; 7

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 3 but showing a modified form of yarn guiding means on the driven roll of the lower feed rolls; and

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view through a portion of the driven roll of the lower feed rolls, taken substantially along the line 6-6 in FIGURE 5.

The present improved yarn guiding and feeding means is shown in FIGURE 1 in association with a high speed false twisting machine of the type which is manufactured by Leesona Corporation and known as their Model No. 55 3. Only one false twisting station is shown in FIGURE 1, however, this type of false twisting machine is normally provided with a plurality of false twisting stations which are closely spaced along each side of the machine frame.

The yarn passing through alternate spindles is usually false twisted in one direction, for example, in an S direction and taken up on a lower deck, as shown in FIGURE 1. On the other hand, the yarn passing through intervening spindles is usually false twisted in an opposite or Z direction and is then taken up on an upper deck so that the false twist spindles may be closely spaced. At times the yarn from adjacent stations may be taken up together on a single take-up bobbin so that any torque in the oppositely false twisted yarns will be balanced. The parts of the false twisting machine which are necessary to understand the invention have been shown in the drawings, however, the complete details of the machine may be found in Catalogue #553-P-I-5l3l, entitled Parts Catalogue for the #553 High Speed Stretch Yarn Machine, and copyrighted in 1961 by Leesona Corporation, Providence, Rhode Island.

A thermoplastic synthetic yarn Y, such as nylon, is withdrawn from a supply bobbin 10 which is in turn suitably supported on a creel 11. The yarn is drawn over a pair of guide rods 12 and 13, through a pigtail guide 14 and suitable tension disks 15 which are suitably supported on a plate 16.

The yarn Y is helically wound several times around the lower feed roll means, broadly designated at 20, which is driven by means of a gear 24 that is fixed on a drive shaft 25. The lower feed roll means is supported for rotation on a pivot bracket 26 so that it may be thrown into and out of driving engagement with the gear 24 when desired. The details of the lower feed roll means 20 will be presently described.

The yarn Y passes upwardly from the lower feed roll means 20 and through a suitable slot in an elongated heater plate 28. As the yarn Y leaves the heater plate 28, is passes upwardly through a conventional high speed false twisting spindle 30 which is suitably mounted for rotation in a pivotally supported bracket 31. The bracket 31 may be swung by the operator to cause the body of the spindle 30 to move into or out of engagement with a spindle driving belt 32 which imparts rotation tothe false twist spindle when engaged therewith.

The yarn Y passes upwardly fromv the false twist spindie 30 and is helically wound several times around upper feed roll means, broadly designated at 35. The upper feed roll means 35 is supported for rotation on a bracket, not shown, which swings about a vertical pivot to move the upper feed roll means 35 into or out of engagement with a drive gear 38 which is fixed on a drive shaft 39. The yarn Y passes upwardly from the upper feed roll 35 and over a yarn guide roller 40.

From the roller 40, the yarn Y passes downwardly and through the yarn guide eye on the lower end of a traversing yarn guide 41 which is fixed at its upper end on a traverse rod 42. The traverse rod 42 normally moves back and forth along the medial portion of a take-up tube 43 to evenly distribute and wind the yarn Y thereon, to form a take-up package 45 to false twisted yarn. The take-up tube 43 is supported for rotation on the upper end of a support arm 46, the lower end of which is pivotally supported on a shaft 47. Rotation is imparted to the take-up package 45 and the tube 43 by means of a cork roll 50 which is supported on a drive shaft 51.

The lower feed roll means 20 includes a driven roll 51 (FIGURE 3) which has a gear 52 at one end that is moved into and out of engagement with the drive gear 24 to control rotation of the driven roll 51. The lower feed roll means 20 also includes a rotatably supported grooved separator roll 53 which is conventionally supported for free rotation on the pivot bracket 26. In the conventional Model No. 553 false twisting machine, the driven roll of the lower feed roll means is metal and is provided with yarn-carrying grooves for receiving each helix of yarn as it is wound about the separator roll and the driven roll.

The upper feed roll means 35 includes a driven roll 55 having a resilient covering and a freely rotatable separator roll 57. The driven roll 55 has a gear 56 at one end which is a adapted to at times engage the drive gear 38 to impart driving rotation to the driven roll 55.

In the conventional machine, the driven metal roll of the lower feed roll means does not provide a positive drive to the yarn and slippage of the yarn on the driven metal roll does not permit an overfeed in excess of approximately 2%. In order to increase the percentage of overfeed to about 6% to 7%, in accordance with the invention, the conventional metal driven roll of the lower feed roll means is removed and replaced by the driven roll 51 (FIGURES 3 and 4) which has a resilient peripheral covering, such as rubber.

As shown in FIGURE 3, the yarn Y passes into the lefthand groove of the separator roll 53 and is wound several times around the driven roll 51 and the separator roll 53. In the present instance, the yarn is wrapped about the rolls 51 and 53 four times and the last wrap of the yarn Y extends upwardly in contact with a yarn guide ring 60 which is pressed onto the rubber covered driven roll 51.

As is clearly shown in FIGURE 4, the yarn guide ring 60 has an oval-shaped smooth outer surface and its inner periphery substantially fiat and has a slightly smaller diameter than the outer diameter of the rubber covered driven roll 51, so that when it is forced into position over one end of the driven roll 51, it will be firmly seated in the rubber covering of the roll 51. The yarn guiding ring 60 is preferably for-med of brass and then chrome plated, however, it is to be understood that the ring 60 could be formed of other suitable material such as hard plastic or the like. The last wind of the yarn Y about the rubber covered roll 51 extends upwardly beside the left-hand side of the yarn guide ring 60, as shown in FIGURE 4, and the guide ring 60 prevents the yarn from moving toward the right-hand end of the roll 51 and also maintains the yarn Y running upwardly in the center of the groove in the elongated heater 28.

The direction of rotation of the false twist spindle 30 in FIGURE 1 causes the last wind of the yarn on the roll 51 to try to move to the right. However, the direction of rotation of the false twist spindles on either side of the false twist spindle shown in FIGURE 1 is opposite and the last winds of yarn on the corresponding rolls 51 will try to move to the left. Therefore, the last Winds of yarn on these rolls 51 will be placed on the right-hand sides of the corresponding yarn guiding rings 60.

The yarn Y is wound five times about the separator roll 57 and the rubber covered driven roll 55 of the upper feed roll means 35, as shown in FIGURE 2, and the axes of the two rolls are positioned at a slight angle to each other to cause a separation of the yarn helices and to cause an advancement of the yarn alongthe rollers from left to right in FIGURE 2. A yarn guide ring 62, which is similar to the yarn guide ring 60, is forced on the rubber surface of the driven roll 55 and prevents the yarn Y from moving off the left-hand end of the roll 55 and becoming entangled in the gear 56.

Thus, in the heretofore described form of improved yarn guiding and feeding means, slippage of the yarn is prevented by the rubber covered driven roll 51 so that the percentage of overfeed can be increased. Also, both the lower driven roll 51 and the upper driven roll 55 are provided with yarn guiding means in the form of respective yarn guide rings 60 and 62 which engage and limit movement of the yarn wound thereabout.

Referring to FIGURES 5 and 6, there is shown a modified form of lower feed roll means, broadly indicated at 20'. The lower feed roll means 20' includes a driven roll 51' having a rubber cover and a freely rotatable grooved separator roll 53'. The driven roll 51 is provided with a modified form of yarn guide means in the form of a plurality of spaced apart grooves 60' which are cut in the outer rubber covering of the driven roll 51' (FIGURE 6). The yarn Y is wound about the lower feed rolls 51' and 53' and the lower portions of each helix of the wound yarn Y is positioned in one of the yarn guiding grooves 60 of the driven roll 51. Thus, in the modified form shown in FIGURES 5 and 6, the rubber covering on the driven roll 51 insures positive feeding of the yarn and the yarn is positively guided by the yarn guiding grooves 61 therein.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only, and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. In a machine for false twisting a running yarn having false twisting means including a false twist spindle and yarn heating means through which the running yarn is passed as it is withdrawn from a supply package and fed onto a take-up package, upper feed roll means engaging the yarn following said false twisting means and including a driven upper feed roll and a separator roll positioned closely adjacent said feed roll, the yarn being helically wound about said feed roll and said separator roll, and a covering of frictional material on said feed roll, the improvement which comprises means for positively overfeeding the yarn substantially greater than 2% to the false twisting means, comprising a lower feed roll and a separator roll cooperating therewith, the yarn being helically wound about said lower feed roll and separator roll cooperating therewith, drive means for said lower feed roll for overfeeding the yarn helically wound thereon said substantially greater amount, and said lower feed roll having a covering of frictional material thereon, whereby the false twisted yarn has enhanced crimp retraction, uniformity and stretchability.

2. In a false twisting machine according to claim 1 wherein the covering of frictional material of said lower feed roll is rubber.

3. In a machine according to claim 1 including yarn guide means on the peripheral surface of said lower feed roll for maintaining the running yarn in a predetermined path therefrom.

4. In a false twisting machine according to claim 3 wherein yarn guide means is also provided on the peripheral surface of the upper feed roll and each of said yarn guide means comprises a ring extending around and outwardly beyond the respective peripheries of said upper and lower feed rolls, said rings being positioned adjacent one end of each of said respective feed rolls and adapted to engage an endmost helical wind of the running yarn thereon.

5. In a false twisting machine according to claim 3 wherein said yarn guide means on said lower feed roll comprises a plurality of grooves formed in the covering of frictional material thereon, said grooves being spaced apart and adapted to be engaged by the helical winds of the running yarn thereon.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,977,611 10/1934 Banigan 2871.3X

9/1935 Bradshaw 2871,3

10/1939 Cotchett 2871.3

6/1952 Barker 188 8/1953 Adams 242155 2/1957 Givens 242-47.08 2/1961 York et a1 242155 X 12/ 1962 Schippers 2871.3

6/1963 Dudzik 5734 X l/1964 Tata 242-4708 10/1964 Dudzik et al 57-157 FOREIGN PATENTS 5/ 1957 Australia. 5/1957 Canada.

ROBERT R. MACKEY, Primary Examiner.

20 MERVIN STEIN, Examiner. 

1. IN A MACHINE FOR FALSE TWISTING A RUNNING YARN HAVING FALSE TWISTING MEANS INCLUDING A FALSED TWIST SPINDLE AND YARN HEATING MEANS THROUGH WHICH THE RUNNING YARN IS PASSED AS IT IS WITHDRAWN FROM A SUPPLY PACKAGE AND FED ONTO A TAKE-UP PACKAGE, UPPER FEED ROLL MEANS ENGAGEING THE YARN FOLLOWING SAID FALSE TWISTING MEANS AND INCLUDING A DRIVEN UPPER FEED ROLL AND A SEPARATOR ROLL POSITIONED CLOSELY ADJACENT SAID FEED ROLL, THE YARN BEING HELICALLY WOUND ABOUT SAID FEED ROLL AND SAID SEPARATOR ROLL, AND A COVERING OF FRICTIONAL MATERIAL ON SAID FEED ROLL, THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES MEANS FOR POSITIVELY OVERFEEDING THE YARN SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER THEN 2% TO THE FALSE TWISTING MEANS, COMPRISING A LOWER FEED ROLL AND A SEPARATOR ROLL COOPERATING THEREWITH, THE YARN BEING HELICALLY WOUND ABOUT SAID LOWER FEED ROLL AND SEPARATOR ROLL COOPERATING THEREWITH, DRIVE MEANS FOR SAID LOWER FEED ROLL FOR OVERFEEDING THE YARN HELICALLY WOUND THEREON SAID SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER AMOUNT, AND SAID LOWER FEED ROLL HAVING A COVERING OF FRICTIONAL MATERIAL THEREON, WHEREBY THE FALSE TWISTED YARN HAS ENHANCED CRIMP RETRACTION, UNIFORMITY AND STRECHABILITY. 